Part 18 (2/2)
The Content Spam Epide has a downside The reality is that it is not easy to regularly produce interesting, high-quality content (thus the opportunity for encies to beco in business, there are organizations that look for shortcuts and cheap solutions to compete
They believe that any content is better than no content Just as link spam infiltrated the SEO industry in the early days, the flood of content spaine rankings and traffic-has begun spewing fro to cash in on the content rush
The good news is that Google has a very public distaste for poor- quality content In June 2011, Google released its Panda update 22, which, according to SEOed sobst practices forever”11 This, in turn, directly i to evolve its algorithm to put a preh-quality content
So, when strategizing drivers for your clients, steer clear of h they reater opportunity is constructing an integrated can powered by premiu
The Rise of Content Curation Content curation has beco world, and an essential coava (rohitbhargava), ainning author of Personality Not Included, published a blog post in 2009 titled ”Manifesto for the Content Curator,”12 in which he defined a content curator as ”soanizes and shares the best and most relevant content on a specific issue online”
The term content curation stems from traditional museum curation-museum curators collect art and artifacts and identify the most relevant or important to be displayed in an exhibit for the public Museuher levels of education that guide an organization's overall art collection Curation has also, historically, referred to overseeing the care and preservation of precious collectibles
With the overwhel amount of content available on the Internet today, it is difficult for professionals to efficientlyactivities as well as separate useful and accurate content from poor content This is where content curation co individuals and businesses to provide a valuable service to their audiences by addressing their need for quality content and the lack of available ti theonline content, curation can establish individuals and coht leaders Content curation enables your clients to stand out in thea tinition
To date, curation has been a relatively tiy to find, filter, and editorialize the best information For example, at PR 20/20 we attehlights the week'sarticles The posts are usually 500 to 700 words, but coer to prepare than a standard post
Curation will take on increased iies as software platfore to make curation more intuitive and automated, so keep an eye on innovations in this space
Unplug to Excel
Efficiency and productivity have been recurring theency's profitability and the ability of your professionals to deliver results However, there are barriers preventing professionals fro at their peaks
We have become a society consumed with connectivity-much to our own detriment and that of our clients, coworkers, friends, and fa rates, instead of focusing our energy on what hour value and productivity with our alired lifestyles, the inverse is ency professionals whose careers require both strategic and creative thinking
We are so focused onshort-terht of the higher-priority outputs that will build our careers and businesses and make us better and happier people
The Distractors We suffer fro business hours (and often after), we are connected through an array of channels co for our attention-Twitter, Facebook, Internet, TV, chat, e-mail, phone, text, internal social networks, and Skype-not to s In essence, we are always distracted or anticipating distraction, and, therefore, we are never perfor flow
People lived so deeply in the moment, and felt so utterly in control, that their sense of time, place, and even selfTruth About What Motivates Us, p 115
These channels are important to our daily lives and our ability to consuroever, as author Dr John Medina explains in Brain Rules, our minds are wired to work and think sequentially, not siically iive our full attention to more than one task at once13 We cannot process Twitter alerts, e-es, and texts and still efficiently produce outputs Plus, research has shown that every time we are interrupted, our brains take up to 45 minutes to refocus and resume a major task14 What is the trade-off? We use our personal tihts, weekends, and vacations) to make up for lost productivity and poor efficiency
The Six-Step Unplugged Plan So what can we do about it? How can we ireater results?
I propose that ed Set aside tiain focus, improve productivity, create more value, and concentrate on what is ular (Daily) Intervals For a minimum of four hours every workday, shut off every nonessential application, and focus all your energy and attention on priority tasks and projects Obviously, you still need to be available for high-priority coed schedule as ency-wide productivity blocks (911 AM and 13 PM) at PR 20/20 in spring 2010 after reading Rework by Jason Fried (jasonfried) and David Heinemeier Hansson (dhh)15 Those blocks serve as our standard unplugged sessions They flex as needed, but co to them has had an incredible impact on our efficiency and perfor in team environ; however, we have found that blocking off periods of our calendars each day as busy, and lies and e-mails, enables us, individually and collectively, to be more creative and productive
2 Create and Communicate in Bursts Use the productivity blocks to create, and use the other tiive people and projects the full attention they deserve, while using your time as efficiently as possible
Hopefully you will unlock so the way, and become a better listener
3 Eliminate Channel and Sensory Overload Be honest How often do you check and respond to e-mails or take a quick look at Facebook or Twitter to distract yourself fro project? I used to do it all the time-probably dozens of times per day
Why? Because they were always open and accessible It is like recess for the ht? Wrong! We are cheating ourselves, and anyone who relies on our production
We have ency policy to shut off all desktop notifications, and set e-mail to autocheck every hour
4 Get Lost to Find Answers Adjust your routine a bit, and e of scenery olf course, or a road trip, we need to quiet our minds and be inspired to think and create
5 Reset Expectations and Priorities What percentage of coent? Of course, there are exceptions, but I guarantee the vast es could wait an hour or two for a reply
I know if I were paying a ency for its creative work, I would rather they spent 60 uninterrupted ht on my project than 60 minutes over three hours with calls, e-encies/consultants keep thethemselves to be constantly interrupted That can be a costly situation when you are paying by the hour I will take efficiency, with higher levels of creativity and attention, every time
6 Reency Since the day I launched it, I have cherished every waking second The people and the moments have enriched my life, and I would not trade theency does not define me It is a means to a better life, for me and my coworkers It affords us the opportunity to ith as More importantly, it is our vehicle to create financial freedom so that we can enjoy our lives, improve the lives of those we care about, and affect the causes we believe in
The more productive and efficient we are, the s that trulyWorks?
Sioals, establish benchmarks, and measure metrics that matter to your business and life For exaoal: write oal: spend eoal: build more relationshi+ps and createagencies turn inforence into action
Look for measurement solutions that help you discover and interpret the metrics that matter most to your clients
Develop professionals who see the big picture and have the ability to ence
Challenge your agency to move beyond the arbitraryfirful outcomes that can be tracked in real time and directly connected to sales
The ility
Make analytics a part of your professionals' daily routines in order to foster deeper thinking a your team
In order to use analytics and constantly adapt to bring greater value to clients, your services must be measurable